


Pyrrhic Victory

by shanshan_789



Category: Naruto
Genre: Comedy, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, Other, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21915916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanshan_789/pseuds/shanshan_789
Summary: They all get to see Kakashi's face, just once.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	1. Shikamaru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a topic I've been writing on and off, here and there, as something I do when I'm bored or have a spare moment, but don't want to dedicate time to anything that requires brainpower. I've accumulated a lot of half-finished stories about denizens of Konoha seeing what Kakashi looks like under the mask so I thought, why not make it a series?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Climbing through the window was easier. Less troublesome, as he was wont to say.

Usually, Shikamaru just entered through the door like a normal person (admittedly, there weren’t many of those in Konoha). This morning, however, he had been on the roof of the office, doling out orders to Chūnin squads for repairs around the village. So when that was all said and done and he found himself having to report back to the Hokage, instead of having to actually go back inside the building and take the stairs (troublesome), he decided to just drop down onto the west mezzanine and crawl in through the big broad windows that led straight to the Hokage’s desk.

Nothing weird about it. Other ninja did it all the time. In fact, _most_ ninja probably came through the window.

But this time, this accidental, casual, random choice was proving to be most interesting.

Because today, when Shikamaru dropped down onto the ledge like any other guy, gal or ninja pal and peered in through the window before making his entrance, he noticed that Kakashi’s mask was halfway down his face.

***

He didn’t think he’d had this much adrenaline coursing through him since the Fourth Shinobi World War. Blood was roaring in his ears and he could barely remember how to breathe.

Kakashi wasn’t paying him any attention. He was engrossed in the mission scroll before him. The index finger of the hand not holding the scroll was hooked over the side of his mask and had pulled it about halfway down his nose.

Shikamaru swallowed, hard.

This was clearly a subconscious habit of the Rokudaime’s. Like how Naruto scratched the back of his head when he was embarrassed. Or how Hinata tapped her pointer fingers together when she was nervous.

Kakashi played with his mask when he was thinking.

What an _opportunity_.

How long had they all been waiting for this? How many times had they _tried_ and failed to see his face?

How easy would it be for Shikamaru to use the Shadow Stitch on him right now? Or Shadow Mimicry? Or sneak in the window directly behind him and just tear that insufferable piece of cloth off his face once and for all?

Thousands of possibilities crashed into his head at lightning speed, so fast that he was distracted and was almost too late when a bird flitted passed him and Kakashi turned to see what moved outside his window.

Shikamaru immediately ducked under the windowsill and crammed all his chakra into the depths of his body to conceal himself.

_“Damn, did he see me?”_

He was _sure_ Kakashi’s eyes had locked with his, just for a second. Even without his Sharingan, those ebony eyes were still fearsome. Shikamaru felt Kakashi go still for a moment…but then he sighed, chuckled to himself and Shikamaru heard papers rustling, so he must’ve gone back to work.

_“Thank goodness, I thought I was a goner. Now…”_

Slowly, ever-so-painfully, Shikamaru lifted himself up and peeked through the window.

Sweet Sage of Six Paths, _he was still fiddling with the mask!_

It was even further down now, almost off his nose but not quite. Shikamaru wondered if this was what it was like to go into cardiac arrest.

He instantly squatted back down and got to work, clasping his hands into their usual pose.

_“Ok, think, Shikamaru, THINK!”_

He had to make a plan and fast, because by _kami_ he was seeing that face today.

‘Troublesome,’ he thought to himself out of pure habit, because he could barely think of how else to react.

Right, the plan. His forehead wrinkled in concentration, IQ 200 on maximum overdrive. What he needed was…a pair of red shoes, a bag of old jellybeans wrapped in a scarf, a sword, a locket, a cup and a tiara, twelve keys, a samurai sword and…

“Oi, Kakashi!”

…and for Tsunade NOT to interrupt him.

Oh no, why NOW of all times, why now? And why _Tsunade?_ Kakashi was going to slip that horrible fabric right back up over his face and Shikamaru was never going to lay eyes on Konoha’s Best Kept Secret.

“Ah, Tsunade-sama, how are you faring?”

Shikamaru groaned internally. As one of Kakashi’s advisors, he knew that today was supposed to be a quiet day with no one reporting in, except himself and Sakura, who would show up in about 30 minutes. Sakura he didn’t mind showing up. She’d join him in his escapade if he hadn’t managed to get the damn mask off by the time she came around.

But Tsunade? His chance was lost.

Why was Tsunade even here in the first place? After Kakashi had finally, reluctantly taken the title of Hokage, she’d settled herself in the hospital, focusing on healing the citizens of the Leaf, ignoring her ninja duties for the time being. Trust her of all people to have one of the busiest jobs in the Land of Fire and still manage to waltz right into the middle of the Hokage’s Office just as Shikamaru was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Shikamaru cursed, suddenly overcome with zeal, which he hadn’t actually thought was possible for someone as lazy as him. Shinobi are those who _endure_. Missions go wrong all the time; what kind of Jonin was he if he let Tsunade get in the way of the Ultimate Truth?

He steeled himself, and once more snuck a look through the window.

Oh…?

OH????????

_Kakashi was STILL PLAYING WITH THE MASK._ Shikamaru almost wanted to scream, another thing he wasn’t inclined to do. Gee, this was really bringing out the worst in him.

He mentally smacked himself. Tsunade was the _previous_ Hokage. She would have seen Kakashi’s face on his official documents! No wonder he was a bit lax about the mask. Why hide what she has already seen?

While Shikamaru was busy having this revelation, the two switched from general greetings to more friendly chatter. Shikamaru leaned into the conversation to gather intelligence.

“So, how have you been, Hokage-sama?” Tsunade winked.

Kakashi dragged his hands down his face to emphasise his exhaustion, pulling the mask _dangerously low._ Tease!

“It’s exhausting, Tsunade. Being the Kage of a village pulling itself out of war…I have to hand it to Lord Third and Fourth. Still, being Hokage _during_ a war…you’ve left me big shoes to fill, Tsunade.”

Tsunade put her hands on her hips and grinned.

“Ah, Kakashi, don’t worry about those things. You’re a good choice. I wouldn’t have picked you otherwise. Relax. Konohagakure will return to its former glory before you know it.”

Kakashi smiled, leaned his cheek onto his palm, and pushed all his fingers under his mask, like he was going to take it off, but he just left them there.

“You know, Tsunade…I’m really grateful you’re doing this with me.”

Shikamaru squinted. Uh, what?

Tsunade didn’t help with Hokage duties anymore. Actually, he didn’t think she left the hospital, except to go to the Pokies.

Kakashi had actually asked _Might Guy_ to be his right-hand man when he was chosen as the Hokage. So what…?

Kakashi got up from his seat and moved towards Tsunade.

“You’re always there for me, no matter what. You’re the best.”

What the-

Before Shikamaru could blink, Tsunade held out her arms and Kakashi slid into her embrace like a schoolgirl with her first boyfriend.

Shikamaru was frozen solid.

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, and most importantly, he could not tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him.

Kakashi looped his arms around Tsunade’s neck and _popped his foot_ , Princess Diaries-style. What on Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s green earth-

Tsunade smirked and held Kakashi around the waist with a possessive grip.

“Aren’t you going to thank me properly?” She purred, something twinkling deep in her amber eyes.

Kakashi began to pull his mask down.

Oh, HELL no.

Shikamaru, in that moment, knew exactly what it was to be faced with an impossible decision.

On one hand, if he kept watching, he was definitely going to see Kakashi’s face.

On the other hand, the price to pay would…would be that he had to….

…he had to watch Kakashi make out with Tsunade.

That was NOT a sentence he ever thought he’d encounter in his lifetime, let alone _witness._ His head was still reeling, and he couldn’t think straight.

Besides, when the hell did this happen? Kakashi was deviant in every sense of the word, so his actions didn’t surprise Shikamaru at all, although they most definitely should have. To be honest, older women was probably the LEAST weird thing Kakashi was into.

But Shikamaru had no idea Tsunade would ever even _consider_ such a… _relationship._ Kakashi was probably more like…a grandchild or nephew to her. He felt bile rise in his throat.

Oh, everything about this was horrible, what should he _do?_

Shinobi are those who endure.

He…he knew what he _had_ to do.

Everything went in slow motion.

First, the scar on his eye was completely uncovered. It was very old, and the edges were faded; they bled into the skin surrounding the scar as if the scar had been painted on.

Then his nose. Kakashi had a very long, straight, sharp, pointed nose. It was the kind you could make jokes about, but it suited him.

Then his _face._ He had a broad face, but it was much longer than it was broad and so it cancelled out. He had a very faint regrowth of stubble dusting his jaw, which made Shikamaru do a double take. Well, Kakashi was a man, facial hair made sense, but, well, he never imagined it.

Then his lips. They were…average, he supposed, but they complemented the rest of his visage so well Shikamaru had to admit he was traditionally very handsome. He had a beauty spot on the same side he had the scar, and his chin was pointier than it looked under the fabric.

_Woah._

Shikamaru only had seconds to burn that image into his brain, however, until those lips touched Tsunade’s and his entire body stopped functioning.

After… _too long_ …he lowered his gaze and clenched his hands into fists. A single tear fell from his cheek. A shadow passed over his face.

He had obtained victory, but at what cost? Oh, at what great cost to the soul! His eyes had seen blood and gore and death, but right now, none of it compared to what he had witnessed this day in the office of the Hokage.

“Hey, is that…Shikamaru?”

_Snap._

***

“Hey, Shikamaru! Come on, wake up! There you are! I thought you were faking it again! What happened?”

Shikamaru’s eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, nearly shoving Sakura off of the roof. She growled.

“A little thank you, would be nice!”

Shikamaru ignored her. His head was swimming.

What? Sakura? Where was he? Where were Kakashi and Tsunade? Why was Sakura here? Was – no!

He jumped onto his feet and practically threw himself through the window, crashing onto the floor in front of the Sixth’s desk. Kakashi, whose mask was still on and was most decidedly NOT in the company of anyone other than Shikamaru himself, looked over the papers down at him.

“Oh? Shikamaru. You’re back. What’s up? It’s not like you to be so excited. What has you riled up?”

Shikamaru’s palms slammed onto the wood of the desk, and he leaned in as close to Kakashi as he dared, staring him dead in the eye. Kakashi stared back, not at all startled. In fact, he couldn’t help but give Shikamaru a teeny smile.

Of course.

_Of course._

Genjutsu.

Back then…

_Thousands of possibilities crashed into his head at lightning speed, so fast that he was distracted and was almost too late when a bird flitted passed him and Kakashi turned to see what moved outside his window._

_Shikamaru immediately ducked under the windowsill and crammed all his chakra into the depths of his body to conceal himself._

_“Damn, did he see me?”_

_He was sure Kakashi’s eyes had locked with his, just for a second. Even without his Sharingan, those ebony eyes were still fearsome._

Kakashi _had_ seen him. In the split second when their eyes met, Kakashi put him in a genjutsu. Shikamaru’s knees felt weak, and he had to hold himself up from collapsing. Sakura jumped into the room after him and held him up.

“Hey, are you actually okay? You look awful. I thought you’d just decided to take a nap on the roof…but did you pass out? Are you feeling okay?”

Shikamaru was not okay. He felt empty.

Kakashi _knew_. He’d known his plan all along and had punished him so fiercely for his transgressions.

Kakashi waved Sakura down.

“Listen, don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of it. I need you to take this to the Intelligence Core for me. Just some supplementary papers for Ino.”

Sakura’s jade green eyes clouded with worry as she took the scrolls.

“Is he going to be ok?”

“He’ll be just fine. I need to talk to him. Run along now; I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Ok, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura didn’t understand what was going on, but she trusted her boys. She patted Shikamaru on the shoulder as she left.

“Keep up the good work!”

The door clicked behind her.

Silence.

Kakashi went about his business for some time, until Shikamaru gained the strength to lift himself up and look at his Hokage. The Rokudaime gently put down what he was holding, laced his fingers together and raised a single eyebrow.

“Was it worth it?”

Shikamaru couldn’t speak if he tried. He’d lost all function to the intrinsic muscles of his larynx. He just shook his head like a child.

Kakashi watched him for a while then smiled that infuriating smile.

“You can have the rest of the day off. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Shikamaru left. There was nothing else he could do or say. It was time to go home.

***

Kakashi let loose a breath he didn’t know he was holding as soon as Shikamaru opened the door to let himself out.

Genjutsu is not his strong point, and the one he put over Shikamaru ended up having to be mighty powerful in order to overcome Shikamaru’s natural resistance to it.

Kakashi had always felt that Shikamaru would find out. That keen eye and superior intellect would get him eventually, so today, when a little bird swung by his window and he’d caught Shikamaru’s gaze for just a moment, he figured, why not?

The door clicked softly behind the boy as he made his exit.

The world sat in stillness for a moment.

Then, a howl of anguish from behind the door.

“OH, KAKASHI-SENSEI! WHY’D YOU HAVE TO USE TONGUE?!?!?”

Kakashi smiled ear to ear.

Not that you could see it under the mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Drop a comment to let me know what you think or leave some Kudos if you liked it!
> 
> I don't know how regularly chapters will be published, but this is something I really want to finish, so I'll get to all our kids eventually.
> 
> Next time - Hinata Hyuuga


	2. Hinata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone!  
> So, Chapter 2! This one turned out a little more serious than originally planned, but I like it. Enjoy!  
> Song of the Week - "Little Pistol" Mother Mother

Her first kiss is not Naruto.

Now, as much as it would most definitely be perfect if her first kiss was the boy she’d obsessed (and I mean _obsessed_ ) over since Day 1, she’s a ninja and things don’t always go as planned.

She had come close, before. Several times.

Rolling down a hill, once, Shino caught her in his arms, and their faces brushed by each other, just missing the other’s lips. They don’t talk about it, but it was a sweet moment, Hinata thinks.

Another time, Kiba, Choji and herself had been playing dares, and the boys had dared her to kiss Kurenai. _Kurenai_! Her sensei! Now older and wiser, she never would have agreed to such a stupid thing, but being 12 and shy and desperate to prove yourself gave way to a lot of silly decisions. She hadn’t, in the end; she’d chickened out, but only at the very last second. Shortly afterwards, Kurenai had given her The Talk and assured her that all these hormones and feelings were totally normal but she ought to stick to people _her age_. Hinata gets embarrassed all the time, but that was definitely a Top 5 Moments She Would Never Recover From.

There had been plenty of other times where she’d come _this_ close to losing her first kiss to another, but she’d always been saved by the bell.

Until now.

***

“For this mission, you’ll be headed to the Land of Waterfalls. There’s been political disputes over their border with the Land of Earth for years now, so the Hidden Stone has taken matters into their own hands and is trying to seize the northern portion of the Land of Waterfalls. Shibuki has requested Konoha’s aid at one of their crossing points, where they’ve gotten wind of an ambush may occur.”

Tsunade taps the map in front of her as she explains.

Team Kurenai bounce their heads in acknowledgement of the mission.

“This is an A-rank, so I’ll be sending Kakashi with you. You’ll be sent head on into battle, so keep your wits about you.”

The team nod their heads once more, this time in greeting to their fluffy haired Jonin leader.

“Alright, get to it! Don’t fail!”

“Yes, ma’am! We’re off!”

***

Kiba and Akamaru slam to a halt, and their heads jerk north-north-west.

They’re at the climax of their journey.

_After 1.5 days of solid travel, they’d reached Takigakure, and rendez-vous’d with Shibuki. Their mission was simple – The Waterfall Village didn’t have enough manpower to take on all of the Stone Village’s attacks, and had requested the aid of Konoha to help at a small but crucial pin on the map._

_“Here,” Shibuki had pointed out on the parchment, at a spot where the Land of Earth and Land of Waterfalls blended into a crossing point that was covered by a truce. Keyword, was._

“Here,” Kiba whispers, and Akamaru’s tail stands straight up.

Kakashi holds on tightly with his left hand to the Coachwood tree he has landed in. The trees around here are not like the great oak of the Land of Fire. They do not lend well to passing ninja. He uses his right hand to brush wet foliage out of the way so he can peer through, droplets of soft water sliding off of his waterproof Chūnin vest.

“I can see it,” he murmurs. His voice is so low it’s muffled by fabric, but Kiba and Akamaru hear just fine, and that’s all Hinata and Shino need; they will follow their lead.

It starts to spit, and Kakashi squints his only eye as the drizzle interferes with his already poor eyesight.

“I think there are already ninja there, but I can’t be sure. Hinata?”

Kiba repeats Hinata’s name, and her brow creases in concentration.

“Byakugan!”

Twelve pinpricks of blue light appear in her vision, and she pushes her range closer until she can see every fibre in their chakra networks. They knit together in the centre as a pulsing core of chakra. Hinata has always found it curious that the Chakra of shinobi of different villages is so completely unique. Her teammates, whom she can see in her peripheral vision, have Chakra that blazes through them like flame, fuelling the bonfire of Chakra beside their hearts. Their Waterfall allies have tumultuous Chakra, violent rivers that form a whirlpool of power in the pit of their bellies. Stone ninja have thick Chakra that pounds through their bodies.

All twelve of them are Stone Ninja, and all twelve are advancing on a thin river upon which sits a border checkpoint. The checkpoint was deserted when the Waterfall Village became aware of the ambush, but it still holds valuable information and political power. They who own the checkpoint govern who gets in and out of this part of this Land, and who rules the rural suburbs to the north.

“There are twelve of them. They’re heading straight for the border house, and they haven’t noticed us. We’re too far away, and I don’t believe they have any sensory ninja on their team.”

There are no ninja with Chakra concentrated in the major tenketsu associated with the five senses.

Akamaru and Kakashi both growl.

“Alright, no time to lose,” The Copy Ninja stands primly on a supple branch. Hinata is impressed. She is holding on to these impossibly smooth trees for dear life. It doesn’t help that the drizzle has turned into a light shower; the wood is slick with rain beneath her hands.

“This mission is entirely brute strength. We take that checkpoint and we _don’t_ let it go. Are you ready to fight?”

Shino’s way ahead of him. As soon as Kakashi finishes his sentence, he’s off, hurtling down the hill towards the river. Kiba and Akamaru vanish after him and Hinata kicks her butt into gear. She will not waver either.

***

Hinata slams her foot into the mucky ground to catch herself, and she thinks she may have spoken too soon.

Water is catapulting down from the heavens. The soil doesn’t drain well, creating mini torrents of water along the ground. Her lovely lavender pants are stained dark with mud. She can barely keep herself from slipping.

The river roils behind her, once a delightful stream now bursting its banks as it is pumped full of torrential rain.

She drops into a deep stance, more rigid and powerful than usually necessary for the Gentle Fist, but enemies are flying at her faster than she can keep up, and she’s been moving closer and closer to the building rapids behind her.

_I will not be moved!_

They’ve been battling for over an hour now, and everyone’s exhausted. Hinata chooses to look on the positive side – their enemies are just as tired as they are, and they are far less skilled. She flings two of them aside and sends a well-placed air palm at another, spraying mud everywhere.

_I will NOT be moved!_

Her musculo-skeletal system sings a different tune. Ever fibre in her body is screaming for rest and it’s all Hinata can do to prevent herself from fainting.

She can’t keep going full force like this if she wants to stay upright. Hurting herself will only be doing her enemies’ jobs for them.

 _Just for a moment_ , she lets her right leg go slack and pushes it forward, to move into a position a little easier on her hamstrings, but in that split second where she falters she loses her balance.

Hinata is instantly consumed by the clag which clings to her body and sucks her downwards. She has no time to react before a wave of water crashes against her and sweeps her into the river.

Before she is taken under, she does the only thing she is able to right now.

She screams.

***

Team 8 sees everything.

Hinata’s barely even underwater before Shino’s bolting towards her, but Kakashi grabs his shoulders and throws him backwards.

“Shino! I’ve got her! Defend the base!”

Shino goes to argue but a flash of Kakashi’s Sharingan makes him back down.

“Save her then! GO!” Shino snarls far more viciously than Kakashi ever expected from the taciturn shinobi, but he understands.

He wastes zero time, his hands forming the seals for water jutsu before Shino has even finished speaking.

_Don’t you worry, I’ll get her back._

***

With a final push, Hinata’s heart pounds for the first time in minutes and she jerks awake, barely able to roll herself to the side before she throws up water.

_I...I was just kissed. I just had my first kiss._

It's raining like hell, and she's literally just been brought back from the dead, so it's a testament to how completely skewif her priorities are that her first thought is not any of the things she should be thinking, but instead is a lament for the first kiss that will not be shared with her beloved Naruto. 

That thought is quickly shot down, however, when she rolls on her back sees who her first kiss is.

"Hinata, are you okay? Thank goodness!" 

Hinata's eyes nearly pop out of her skull.

It's...Kakashi. 

Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi-sensei.

She can see his face.

He...he looks so much kinder without that mask on. 

***

Kakashi-sensei is drenched. So is she, but nothing matters right now except Kakashi-sensei. His long white hair is plastered against the sides of his face. The Sharingan is reflective in the dark, a little wheel of colour in the otherwise grey, wet landscape.

What she immediately notices about his face is that it is very warm (its literally quite warm - she remembers the heat of it pressed against hers - but right now she means it metaphorically). Kakashi-sensei has always been cool and aloof, so seeing genuine worry in his face warms her to her toes. 

It's also very gentle. The black mask gives one the impression that Kakashi-sensei is made up of polygons; all sharp angles and a jawline that could give you a paper cut.

But without the mask, he's just a man. Just a human, just like her, just like all of them. She expected a harsh, wolf-ish face, not puppy-dog eyes.

The final thing she notices is how permanently sad he looks. He's got the sort of face you want to kiss. Not like that, but in a tender way. There's a lot of pain in that handsome profile, and Hinata just wants to rub it all away. 

"Hinata? Hinata, can you get up?"

"Y-y....you're so pretty, Kakashi-sensei." 

Kakashi balks, and the reality of the situation finally dawns on Hinata. 

She's lying down in the pouring rain, underneath Kakashi-sensei, who'd just given her the Kiss of Life.

She squeals and shakes her head violently.

"Ah! I-, I mean! I d-didn't! Mean! EEE!" 

Kakashi lets out a breathy laugh and smiles at her, and it’s such a lovely look that all the blood in her body floods her cheeks. 

"Thank you, Hinata." 

And just like that, he pulls the mask up and he's gone. 

He scoops her up in his arms and blinks encouragingly at her. She hides herself behind her hands. 

"Now, let's go rescue those Stone Ninja."

At first, Hinata thinks she's misheard him, but when she peeks between her fingers to see Kiba, Akamaru and Shino laying waste to their enemies she understands. 

Her boys must've thought she was really dead. 

She recognises the insects Shino is using; he has told her about them before. They're from a family called Dermestidae. 

Skin beetles. Flesh eaters.

Kiba looks more beast than human. His face and hands are painted burgundy - a toxic mixture of blood and earth. The blood isn't his.

She didn't think Akamaru had that many teeth. Meat shears like butter between them.

Kakashi moves towards them swiftly, and Hinata cups her hands to her mouth and screams, "Boys!" 

They react instantly, their heads snapping towards her voice in synchrony. It doesn't matter that they're not paying any more attention to the battle. The day is won. Their enemies flee from whence they came the moment they notice they've got the chance. 

Akamaru responds first. He lets out several loud _awoos_ that are both excited and stressed. He's so grateful she's alive, but he's still upset he nearly lost her. He bounds towards her and Kakashi, and meets them in the middle. Akamaru shows Kakashi his back and Kakashi gently lowers Hinata onto him. 

Hinata and Akamaru smother each other in kisses and it’s not long before her other two teammates reach her and she's covered in human kisses. Kiba presses his gross wet nose against hers, then brushes her bangs off her forehead and plants a sloppy kiss right between her eyes. Shino holds her face in his hands and presses his lips to her temple. His kiss is like a butterfly's, so light but so full. 

Hinata, overwhelmed with emotion and exhaustion and the pain in her lungs and ribcage from Kakashi's chest compressions that's crept up on her as the adrenaline has faded, begins to cry. 

***

_So_ , Kakashi muses as he goes about picking up weapons and inspecting bodies (well, body parts. The boys did not leave many corpses whole), _I'm pretty, hey?_

_Trust the lovely Hinata to think so._

It's been a long day. Their mission is complete. Kakashi is cleaning up the mess.

As he goes, he watches Shino and Kiba rubbing Hinata's back as she sniffles into Akamaru's fur out of the corner of his eye and he lets his lips twitch upwards. 

He wonders if Team 7 will ever be like that again.

_Wishful thinking._

***

Naruto is not Hinata's first kiss. He's not even her second or third (or fourth, if Akamaru counts?); but the memory is so sweet, she can't bring herself to mind.

Until one day, many years deep in the future, on a warm late summer's eve, when Sarada thinks to ask, 

"Hey, Auntie Hinata, who was your first kiss?

Uh oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Drop a comment to let me know what you think and leave some Kudos if you liked it!
> 
> Next time - Rock Lee
> 
> Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2020!


	3. Lee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! This one's a bit shorter. Short 'n sweet. Enjoy!

"Why do you care so much, Tenten? His face is youthful indeed, but I would not say that it is anything particularly special."

Tenten nearly broke her neck snapping her head around to stare at Lee. 

"Wait...you - you've seen his face?" 

"Well, of course I have. I have seen it several times, when I join Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei in the bathhouse." 

Tenten was floored. 

"But I asked Neji that! Neji says he keeps a towel on his face even in the bath!" 

Lee raised a single, humongous eyebrow.

He and Tenten had collapsed a little while ago after training on the floor of the forest on the outskirts of the village. Normally, the moment Lee recovered, he would pester Tenten to get back on her feet and insist she join him in running laps around Konoha only using obscure body parts.

Today, though, on a whim, he'd decided to take her up on her offer to just rest for once in their lives, and for the past few hours they'd chatted easily about anything and everything. Team-bonding was training too, after all. 

Eventually, they'd drifted onto the topic of who they thought was attractive. Lee said Sakura, of course, and after some pushing admitted that Hinata was sort of cute, too. Tenten snickered. 

"Neji'll kill you for real if he hears you saying that." 

Lee beamed. "I won't lose!" 

Tenten grinned, and Lee turned over from where he was lying on his back to look at her. 

"Well, what about you, youthful Lotus of the Leaf? Is there someone your heart desires?"

Tenten couldn't very well say, _'I kind of fancy both you and Neji and don't know how to feel about that at all,'_ so she settled for, 

"You know who I bet is actually cute? Kakashi-sensei under that mask!" 

Lee frowned, deep in thought for a moment. 

"No, I don't think so. Kakashi-sensei is certainly not ugly! But, I don't know if I'd say cute..."

Tenten rolled her eyes. 

"How would you know? Your exemplar for attractive is Sakura, and I seriously doubt Kakashi looks like her. I bet he's totally a stud underneath that mask! I wish we could get it off. We've failed so many times before..."

Lee pursed his lips.

"Why do you care so much, Tenten? His face is youthful indeed, but I would not say that it is anything particularly special."

Tenten nearly broke her neck snapping her head around to stare at Lee.

"Wait...you - you've seen his face?" 

"Well, of course I have. I have seen it several times, when I join Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei in the bathhouse." 

Tenten was floored.

"But I asked Neji that! Neji says he keeps a towel on his face even in the bath!" 

And we're back, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Lee raises a single, humongous eyebrow. 

"No, he doesn't." 

Tenten's whole world starts collapsing around her. For a few seconds, all she does is sit there, mouth open, catching flies, but after her brain catches up she launches herself at him. 

"Well, man! Spill the beans! What does he look like? Tell me everything!"

Lee thinks hard. 

"It's sort of like..."

_Lee recalled the very first time he'd seen it. He was on a mission with Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, Sakura and himself. They were in the Land of Snow, and since it was freezing, the Senseis decided to stop at a bathhouse. Lee was far more concerned with how he could turn this event into training (maybe a breath-holding competition?) than whatever the teachers were doing, but he did pause when Kakashi turned to talk to Guy, with absolutely nothing on._

_Lee thought he looked way more naked without the mask than without his pants._

_He noticed the eyes first - Guy and Kakashi have the same inky black eyes (eye, singular, in Kakashi's case) except where Guy's eyes are warm and sparkling, Kakashi's is cool and dim. Lee thought it was sort of like how hot sandy places and freezing snow plains are both considered deserts._

"...this?" 

Lee lets his upper eyelids hang loosely, like a broken baby doll. 

"And the Sharingan, is sort of like..."

_A lot of people compare the colour of the Sharingan to fresh blood, but Lee doesn't see it as something so morbid. Actually, Lee can't help but think that shade of carmine is exactly the same red that constitutes a great deal of Konoha's architecture; like Kakashi holds the heart of the Hidden Leaf in his eye._

"...this." He pulls the bottom eyelid of his right eye downwards to show the pink mucosa. 

Tenten smacks him.

"What sort of face is that? That doesn't tell me anything. And I just think you like pulling that face 'cause it annoys Neji." 

Lee is the opposite of malicious, but he does occasionally enjoy exposing the whites of his eyes and yelling, 'Byakugan!' whenever a certain Hyuuga walks past. 

He isn't trying to be annoying this time, though. Okay, well, if she's not interested in his eyes...

_Gai asks Kakashi something, and Kakashi reaches up and strokes his chin. He's got a manly face, well cut and defined, although nothing quite so brilliantly sculpted as Guy-sensei._

...what about the rest of his face?

Lee drops his jaw but tries to keep his mouth shut in order to lengthen his profile. He pulls his upper lip downwards to make his nose look bigger. In order to emulate the mole on Kakashi's chin, Lee pokes his finger into the spot approximately where it should be.

"This is kind of what his face looks like. Tenten?" 

He glances to her for approval. She looks even more offended.

Lee's running out of options here. 

One last try. Third times the charm, hey? 

_"So, Lee, training hard as always?"_

_Lee can't be sure if it's actually just the hot steam, but Kakashi's voice is so warm the cold of the mission is banished instantly. It is clear to Lee that Kakashi loves Guy very much, perhaps as much as he does, and that the two are family to each other. As a result, Lee and his teammates are akin to nephews and niece to Kakashi, and he has always been kind and friendly to them. This time, however, interacting with Kakashi feels special because Lee can see his mouth move and curve and his eye shimmer as he speaks. His voice is the same, but so much more enticing without the mask - like comparing black and white to colour TV. His words, unhindered by cloth, are gilded lovingly in gold by feather white lips._

_"Yes sir! Keep watching me, Sensei!"_

_"I will, Lee, I will."_

"His voice," Lee's own naturally loud voice drops a few decibels, "is sweet like the honey of the native black bees of the south-east of the Land of Fire."

Lee clears his throat and deepens the way he sounds as much as he can pre-adolescence.

"His voice is deep like the caverns and canyons of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and like the lightning that rolls over them that gave the land its name."

Tenten is rapt, but Lee is too focused on his explanation to notice.

"The way Kakashi sounds, is like hot, volcanic water over rocks - smooth and clear but never sharp or crass, although I think it could burn you if it wanted." 

"His voice is...Konoha. His voice is a tepid ray of sunlight on a late afternoon when you pass him by at the bookstore and he greets you. His voice is a boring day when Guy-sensei leaves him to babysit us and he makes excuses to leave. His voice is reprimanding but concerned when Guy-sensei and I train too much, even though I do not think that is possible. His voice...is just so normal to me. _He_ is so normal to me. He is a tiny intricate part of the grand scheme of my universe, and when he speaks all I can think of is home."

When Lee finishes, silence falls so soft he thinks Tenten has dozed off until she shifts her body weight backwards onto her butt and stares at him. She looks dazed.

"Lee...that was beautiful. I didn't know you had that in you." 

Success! He has pleased his teammate. 

Lee tilts his head and beams at her and Tenten returns the smile at an even greater size. She is so enchanted by the secret poet within Lee that she almost doesn't say what she's thinking.

Almost.

"There's just one thing, though..."

"What is it, Tenten?"

"Well...it's just that, I asked you about his face _without_ the mask on and well..."

"Yes?"

"I...can hear his voice without him taking the mask off."

...oh.

***

To Guy, Kakashi's face is no mystery. 

To Kakashi, Guy's face is dearly beloved. 

To anyone with eyes, Lee looks so much like Might Guy.

Kakashi does not feel the need to keep secrets from Lee because when Kakashi looks at Lee, all he sees is Guy at his most youthful. 

The Guy who loved him relentlessly in the darkest period of his life.

The Guy he took for granted for _years_.

He will not make the same mistakes with this new generation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys enjoying this so far? It's really fun to write things like this, because it's so fun to just play silly games with the characters.  
> Let me know what you think by leaving comments and Kudos! 
> 
> Any suggestions for future chapters?
> 
> Next time - Neji Hyuuga


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